We managed to get a hook up to relax for a couple of hours at the British Embassy in Addis. Turns out there is a really nice swimming pool and hot shower there which was really nice as we hadn’t experienced a proper shower for a very long time. As we sat there soaking up the rays, a man popped over from the other side of the pool to have a little chat. He happens to be the Vice Consular at the Embassy (Neil Morris), a massive football fan and well hooked up to the Ethiopian Football Association. He invites us to join him at the National Stadium to watch an Ethiopian league game between Electric and Hawasa and also tells us that there is a good chance we can have a chat with Electric’s team manager after the game!
I’m not going to lie and tell you that it was the best football match I’ve seen but we did manage to film some of it and I got to commentate on it which was a nice touch. The match finished 1-0 to the away side (Hawasa) with a nicely taken goal from their number 14. Saying that it is an absolute miracle that the Hawasan goalkeeper didn’t concede a goal as he was quite literally one of the worst goalkeepers i’ve seen play in any stadium! Anyway the quality of football wasn’t too bad at all but the tackling leaves a little to be desired (two footed leg breaking lunges seem to not warrant a yellow card in Ethiopia).
The best part about it all was Neil introduced us to Belay, who is the Electric’s general manager. He invited us to visit their training ground the next day for a chat and look around. So we met him at the national stadium the next morning and he drove us to a field on the outskirts of Addis. We talked for at least an hour about the plans for the future of Ethiopian football and the challenges that lie ahead (Ethiopia are currently banned from playing international matched by FIFA due to leadership issues). We also talked about Tackle Africa and how football can help in raising awareness of health issues, especially HIV. He enthused over the coaching manual and really believes that it could be used within the Ethiopian Football Association to help educate the young players in the clubs.
We then had a quick kickabout on the training pitch and tried a few crossbar challenges. We weren’t great but I managed to hit the crossbar (it may have just been inside the centre circle but it still felt great) and Belay was suitably impressed with our collective skills. I think we all know that he was just being polite.
He then drove us to the Godanaw project which is a charity run by a very dedicated Ethiopian man (Matulu). It was set up 15 years ago to help homeless women who had been raped on the streets and who now had children or were pregnant. Matulu encourages the women not to put the children up for adoption but to bring them up themselves and also gives them shelter and education. This is covered in much more detail in another blog but the reason we found out about it is because Neil’s wife (Maria) had worked there as a dedicated volunteer for many years. It wasn’t a football project but we found out about it through football and knew it was definitely worth visiting and filming the work there. It was to be another very humbling and amazing experience........................................
Andy
Comments